Marble race game



June 13, 1961 r A, T 2,988,361

MARBLE RACE GAME Filed April 4, 1958 United States Patent 2,988,361MARBLE RACE GAME William Arthur Dart, Mason, Mich., assignor to DartManufacturing Company, Mason, Mich., a partnership of Michigan FiledApr. 4, 1958, Ser. No. 726,457 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-120) This inventionrelates to a novel game apparatus for a chance controlled game and moreparticularly to a marble race game comprised of a plurality of marblerace elements which are vertically stackable so that marbles released onthe uppermost of said elements progress in an unregulated chance mannerto the lowermost of said elements.

Games hitherto developed and well known in the art require skill on thepart of the contestants or players, usually have complicated rules thatmust be learned before the game can be played, and often utilizecomplicated structures which present a storage problem when not in use.

Games, whose outcomes are influenced by the skill of the contestants,lose their appeal as one contestant becomes more proficient in thespecific game thereby winning consistently.

Complicated rules which must be observed during the playing of gamesoften remove the element of relaxation from the game and require thatpotential users of the game devote time and etfort to learn the rulesbefore being able to enjoy the game.

Bulky and elaborate structures utilized to play some games often createa storage problem, in addition to raising the initial cost of the game.

Another limitation of most games is that a limited or definite number ofcontestants are required and players usually play in sequence. Thissequence type of play often results in loss of interest in the game byplayers while they are waiting for their turns.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel andentertaining game which can be played by one or more personssimultaneously.

A further object of this invention is to provide a game whose outcome isnot predicated upon the skill of the contestants but is governedentirely by the element of chance.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a game whoserules of play are simple and thus easily mastered.

Another object of this invention is to provide a game device which islight and compact, economical to produce, easily assembled, and easilydisassembled and stored.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a simple trouble-freestructure capable of high production and economical maintenance.

Other objects and advantages found in the construction of my inventionwill be apparent from a consideration of the following specification inconnection with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the marble race game elementillustrating the raised marble receiving portion and the groovedcircular pathway having a marble drop opening opposite the raisedportion.

FIGURE 2 is apartial breakaway view illustrating the interlockingfeatures of the marble race game elements when they are joined for useas a game structure.

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the marble race element illustrating anumberedpanel which is added to the lowermost element for. scoring,purposes.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the marble race elementillustrating the hollow wall configuration of the preferred embodiment.

Patented June 13, 1961 FIGURE 5 is a front assembly view illustrating aplurality of vertically-stacked marble-race elements in their useposition, each of the race elements being oppositely oriented withrespect to the next adjacent race element. The marble drop opening ofthe uppermost element is in register with the raised marble receivingportion of the element directly below.

FIGURE 6 is a front view of the marble race elements in their storageposition wherein they are nested one on top of the other so as torequire a minimum of storage space.

General description In general a chance controlled game structure isprovided wherein a plurality of marbles or balls are released upon anuppermost marble race element 11. The marbles roll in accord withgravity down the marble receiving ramp 12 which merges with the pathway13. Each marble due to its momentum, will circulate around thesubstantially horizontal and substantially circular grooved portion orpath 13 of the marble race element 11. As each marble loses itsmomentum, naturally or due to bumping with other marbles, it moves tothe lower grooved portion 13a of the grooved portion or path 13, and.drops through the marble drop opening 14 provided through the marblerace element 11. The marble drop opening 14 is in register with theraised marble receiving portion or ramp 12 of the next succeeding lowermarble race element 11. Each marble drops through the marble dropopening 14. The raised marble receiving portion or dias 12 is alsogrooved and slopes gradually until it merges with the main substantialhorizontal and substantially circular grooved path 13 of the raceelement 11 Here again the marbles race about the grooved path portion 13until each loses momentum and drops through the marble drop opening 14to the next succeeding marble race elementll, where the process iscircular grooved portion or path 13 until they lose their,

momentum and move to the marble drop opening 14. The lead marble comesto rest in the pocket 15 which is formed by the walls of the marble dropopening14 and the surface 16 upon which the lowermost marble raceelement 11 is resting. The remainder of the marbles come to restadjacent to the marble resting in the pocket 15 in. chance order oftheir progress down the marble race game structure and in accord withtheir chance position as a consequence of delay in the paths 13 andtheir contact with each other. A simple scoring chart 17 is incorporatedon the face of the lowermost element 11 which indicates score for therelative positions finally held by the marbles after they have stopped.

his pointed out that the order in which. each marble is released on theuppermost marble race element does not determine the final position ofeach marble on the lowermost race element. While any given marble mayremain on a marble race element a relatively long time due to itsmomentum, other of the marbles quickly drop through the marble dropopening to the next succeeding marble race element having lost theirmomentum by bumping into other of the marbles. On the next succeedingmarble race element, the relative position or progress of the marblesmay again change because of similar chance bumping which may changetheir respective momentums and/or directions. It will. also beappreciated that the inertia of the marbles carry them across the marbledrop opening when the momentum is suflicient to supply a climbingcentrifugal force around the drop opening.

Thus, several turns about the path 13 are possible until the momentum ofthe marble fails to cause it to climb 3 up the wall of the pathway 13,the drop opening 14.

thus no longer avoiding Specific description The marble race element 11,as shown in FIGURE 1, is manufactured from polystyrene plastic sheeting.It is vacuum molded by a process well known in the art. The preferredembodiment of the marble race element is of hollow construction, asshown by the cross-sectional view of the FIGURE 4.

A raised ramp portion 12, shown in FIGURE 1 is pro vided on the marblerace element 11. The ramp surface 18 is grooved as shownin thecross-sectional view of FIGURE 4. The grooved ramp surface 18 slopesdownwardly to tangentially merge with the substantially circular andhorizontal grooved pathway 13, as shown in FIGURES. V v

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIGURE 4, the groovedsubstantially horizontal pathway 13 is provided with an outer bankedportion 19 which permits the marbles to ride away from the marble dropopening 14 when they are acted upon by centrifugal force due to theirmomentum.

The marble drop opening 14 is provided in the lowest grooved portion 13aof the substantially circular and horizontal pathway 13 and is located apoint substantially opposite the ramp 12.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the marble drop opening 14 of the lowermost raceelement 11 is so configured so as to cooperate with the supportingsurface 16 to form a trap pocket 15 for a marble. A rim portion 20merges with the banked portion 19 to retain the marbles on the marblerace elements 11.

A fiat central portion 21 is provided on the marble race element 11 andthe hollow support hub 22 rises integrally therefrom. The hollow supporthub 22 of each of the marble race elements 11 is of an upwardly taperedsplined hollow wall construction. Positioning notches 23 are integrallyformed at the base of the support hub 22 intermediate the splines 24.The positioning notches 23 are configured to engage the upper portion ofthe splines 24 of an identical mating. marble race element 11 so as tomaintain the elements in the use position shown in FIGURE 5. This matingrelationship is illustrated in the partial breakaway view of FIGURE 2.

It is thus seen that the hollow construction unique structure permitsthe marble race elements 11 to be stacked in a nesting manner forstorage purposes by placing the hollow wall splines 24 of the hub 22 inregister witheach other. This stacked relationship is shown in FIGURE 6.By rotating the marble race elements 11 so that the positioning notches23 of one are in register with hollow wall splines 24 of another, themarble race elements 11 are automatically held in their use position asshown in FIGURE 5.

Although, all of the marble race elements utilized in the marble racegame are of identically formed hollow construction, the marble raceelement intended to be the lowermost in use is provided with a scoringchart 17 as shown in FIGURE 3. Each number on the chart 17 coincideswith a marble which has come to rest on the lowermost marble raceelement, either in the pocket 15 or adjacent another marble, thusproviding a score for each finish position.

Operation In operation, a plurality of the marble race elements 11 arestacked vertically, as shown in FIGURE 5. The marble race elements 11are alternately positioned so that the marble receiving ramp 12 of oneof said elements 11 is directly below the marble drop opening 14 ofanother.

- Marbles, each of a different color, are chosen by each player. Aftereach player has chosen a marble, the marbles are simultaneously releasedon the marble receiving portion or ramp 12 of the uppermost element. The

marbles roll around the grooved paithway 13 of the upmost element has norelation to their final positions on the lowermost element.

The scoring in the game is accomplished by referring to the chart 17 ofthe lowermost element. A different score coincides with each marbleposition. The highest score is assigned to the marble which is first andis resting in the pocket 15. Marbles to the left of the pocket areassigned smaller but positive scores. A marble to the right of thepocket receives a negative score.

This constitutes a game or the process may be repeated until one of thecontestants reaches a predetermined score total.

After the game has been played, the marble race elements aredisassembled. Due to their identical hollow construction, they can betelescoped" or nested upon each other and stored so as to require aminimum of space, as shown in FIGURE 6.

Although the present embodiment of this game structure utilizes marblerace elements having hollow integral central support hubs enabling themto be vertically stackable in themselves, it is within the scope of theinvention to utilize a separate support column or external support frameto maintain a plurality of marble race elements in a verticalspaced-apart relationship.

Various modifications of the invention may be made without departingfrom the principle thereof. Each of these modifications is to beconsidered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless theseclaims by their language expressly provide otherwise.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, I claim the following:

1. In a marble race game, the combination including: a plurality ofhollow platform elements for positioning one above the other insubstantially parallel spaced-apart play position; a ramp-like receivingportion integrally provided on each of said platform elements and beinggrooved to tangentially merge with a substantially horizontal andconvolutely grooved pathway, the convolutions of said pathway merging attheir adjacent edges through gradually sloping portions to permit changein relative position of marbles released thereon, said pathway defininga drop opening at one point substantially opposite said ramp-likereceiving portion and in play position oriented directly above andspaced-apart from the said ramp-like receiving portion of the nextlowermost platform.

2. In a marble race game, the combination including: a plurality ofnestable identically formed hollow platform elements having support hubsfor positioning one above the other in substantially parallelspaced-apart play position; a ramp-like receiving portion integrallyprovided on each of said platform elements and being grooved totangentially merge with a substantially horizontal and convolutelygrooved pathway, the convolutions of said pathway merging at theiradjacent edges through grad ually sloping portions to permit change inrelative position of marbles released thereon, said pathway defining adrop opening at one point substantially opposite said ramp-likereceiving portion and in play position oriented directly above andspaced-apart from the said ramp-like receiving portion of the nextlowermost platform.

3. In a marble race game, the combination including: a plurality ofidentical substantially parallel spaced-apart marble raceway platformsin vertically-stacked play position; a ramp-like receiving portionintegrally provided on each of said platforms and being grooved totangentially merge with a substantially horizontal and convolutelygrooved pathway, the convolutions of said pathway merging at theiradjacent edges through gradually References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 117,559 Patterson Aug. 1, 1871 424,260Bender Mar. 25, 1890 1,337,773 Ireland Apr. 20, 1920 2,838,870 MorseJune 17, 1958

